Jonny Lieberman

Per vehicle, Americans are spending $146 more on fuel this year than last. And it is not even June yet. If prices stabilize we are talking more than $300 additional by year's end. Hey, that's basically the same as Bush's tax cut from a few years back. Just sayin'. The bad news is that prices are going to go up come mid-summer. Meaning that figure might be an extra $400 – or worse. Luckily, the Federal Trade Commission is all over it. You will be happy to know that even though the GAO reported to Congress yesterday that, "Spending billions more on gasoline constrains consumers' budgets, leaving less money available for other purchases," Federal Trade Commission member William Kovacic reports that price spikes, "typically have a business-related cause." Whew. We were worried there for a second. For their part the oil companies want you to know that, "more than 30 prior government investigations into alleged gasoline profiteering has proven the industry did nothing illegal." You heard 'em, boys. Nothing to see here. – Jonny Lieberman